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When Alex Burmistrov lined up at left wing for a face-off in the Toronto Maple Leafs zone on Wednesday night, Dion Phaneuf was right there to meet him.

Somebody said something or someone’s personal space was invaded, because the referee had to go over and told them to settle down before the puck was dropped.

“I don’t know what Phaneuf’s deal was,” Burmistrov said Thursday after the morning skate in Ottawa. “He just tried to chirp me, and I just smiled for him. He tried to maybe bother me, but it didn’t work.”

It was likely no coincidence that when the shift ended with a whistle in front of the Toronto net, Burmistrov’s centre and mentor, Nik Antropov, was in Phaneuf’s face, mixing it up. It was another reminder that Antropov always has Burmistrov’s back.

Atlanta’s first-round draft pick in 2010 believes the connection is even deeper than that.

“He’s kind of like my dad,” said Burmistrov, who will turn 20 on Friday, leaving Mark Scheifele as the team’s lone teenager.

LOOSE CANNON? If you’re a Jets fan who gets frustrated or nervous when Dustin Byfuglien goes for a stroll, head coach Claude Noel said there is no reason to be alarmed.

“Dustin’s a really effective player. We don’t mind him roving,” Noel said. “It’s just a controlled rove, if you can put it that way. (Defensive coach) Charlie Huddy’s the one that saw the roving the first game and really pulled in the reins. He’s done a good job. Dustin understands.

“I don’t think you want to take away from him roving. That’s a quality that he has. He’s a very smart player. He’s got a high hockey IQ. So we allow him to do that.”

WILD RIDE: The Jets make the quick flight to Ottawa shortly after the Toronto game on Wednesday night, and the trip was as turbulent as the first five games of the season have been for the team.

“It was a bit rough,” defenceman Derek Meech said. “I looked back and Bogo (Zach Bogosian) had an ice pack on the back of his head and was just over top of the table, ready to let her go.”

No cookies were tossed.

SPOOKY: The Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League’s Interlake Lightning came back from a two-goal deficit to beat the Winnipeg Thrashers 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, James Reimer’s Toronto Maple Leafs came back from a two-goal deficit to beat a Winnipeg team formerly known as the Thrashers 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday night.

The connection? Reimer, from Morweena, Man., used to play for the Lightning.